TRIWAY DISTRICT -- Many of Laura Gordon's friends come from agricultural backgrounds.

They didn't put up much of a fuss when she said, "I can't go out. I've got to work on my tractor." As it turned out, she labored over her project for 18 months -- after school, weekends and during the summer.

That's how long it took to turn what Gordon, a senior at Triway High School, described as "an old, rusted tractor" into a winner -- a finalist in the 2007 Chevron Delo Tractor Restoration Competition among teen tractor restoration specialists.

"The engine (of the 1957 Oliver 99) didn't run," she said. "I disassembled the engine, reassembled the engine, fixed a bunch of sheet metal and sand-blasted the rest," she said, then "primed and painted it."

The tractor belongs to Joe Gress, a neighbor who said he "helped her out with advice here and there."

"I had a lot of help from Joe," said Gordon, whose previous related work was just "one small engine project in 4-H."

"(This) was a learning experience," she said.

It isn't so unusual for a girl to take on such a project, she said. "One of my (girl) friends restored a tractor a while ago. I thought it would be something I'd like to do."

The work was done at Gress's place, but "(Laura) was there for everything we did," he said. "I showed her where things went and how we were going to do (each step)."

"You need to see a picture," comparing the tractor's "before" and "after," said Gress, in order to appreciate the enormity of the project.

Gordon, who Gress said "grew up around tractors," became one of 10 finalists in the nation based on a workbook in which she said she "recorded the experience and all the hours I put into it."

She also will make a 20-minute presentation she put together at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis Oct. 24-26.

"Then they choose the winner," Gordon said.

Asked whether she ever wanted to give up on the Herculean project, Gordon said no, but Gress quipped, "I did!"

What about problems along the way? "You name it, we had it," said Gress, noting the biggest difficulty was missing parts.

But Gordon didn't spend a lot of money on restoring the tractor.

The duo decided, "We're going to use the parts we can and do the best we can with what we've got," Gress said.

According to information distributed by Chevron Products Company, finalists will be judged on the restoration process and its documentation, oral presentation and safety precautions. Individual finalists and chapter finalists will compete for a grand prize of $2,500.